Police: Palm Beach man hands officer $100 bill before DUI arrest

Friday

A Palm Beach man was arrested Tuesday morning after handing an officer a $100 bill when he was pulled over for drunk driving, police said.

At about 12:30 a.m., police said Peter Graefe sped out of a condominium complex in his red BMW, cutting off a car driving north in the 3400 block of South Ocean Boulevard.

Police said Graefe, 76, drove away at a “high rate of speed” and weaved in his lane before an officer pulled him over. While trying to find his license and registration, police said Graefe handed an officer a folded $100 bill with a business card of a Palm Beach County Sheriff's sergeant tucked inside. The police report does not list the name of the sergeant.

When the officer handed the money and the card back to Graefe, Graefe said the gesture was “accidental,” the report said.

When police asked Graefe to step out of the car, “he stumbled and was very uneasy on his feet,” according to the report.

After police arrested him, Graefe said he had two glasses of wine earlier at a restaurant and had his last drink about 10 minutes before the traffic stop, police said.

Graefe was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence. He was released at about 2 p.m. Tuesday on his own recognizance.